Total Dog Magazine

Category: Magazine

  • Dog or Bitch – Should I Get a Male of Female Dog?

    Male Or Female: Which Dog Is Better?

    Which dog makes a better pet, a male dog or a female? The answer to this question depends on what you’re looking for. On one level, if you care about the personality and character of the dog more than anything else, the gender shouldn’t matter. Your decision will be based mainly on how the puppy behaves and acts towards you and other people when you are looking at the litter.

    On another level, if you want to find out whether a male dog or a female dog would generally make an overall better pet, then you’ll have to take in other factors, such as the size, temperament, and level of care.

    Choosing A Female Dog

    Generally speaking, female dogs are relatively smaller in size and warmer in temperaments. There are, however, some male dogs that are just as affectionate as female dogs. Many dog trainers and breeders recommend a female dog to homes with small children. Some believe that there is some type of maternal instinct that exists in female dogs, a quality that makes them amiable and ideal for a household with children.

    Do not let feminine problems such as heat cycles and bleeding steer you away from getting a female dog. If you are worried that she will bleed all over your house when that time comes, consider getting her spayed (read: spaying female dogs), which is the ideal thing to do anyway. Once spayed, rest assured that she will not bleed a single drop. And with regards to behavior, female dogs can be just as challenging as male dogs, sometimes even more so.

    Choosing A Male Dog

    Male dogs are a bit more difficult to care for at times than females. For instance, they are quite good at performing a disappearing act when a nearby female dog is in heat. This can be dangerous to the dog as well as create problems for you. Many male dogs have been injured or even killed when escaping their homes to search for a female in heat. Between moving vehicles and fights with other male dogs, it makes sense to also have male dogs fixed.

    Male dogs are also very territorial over their property, including any of his “stuff” inside the house, his bathroom area, or even a female dog. He tends to get very aggressive when he thinks that his property is being taken over by another dog and is willing to fight to defend it.

    Male dogs also display territorial urination by lifting its leg up as high as possible while urinating. This leg-lifting behavior is not a problem unless it occurs inside the house.

    On the other hand, male dogs have tons of energy and a lot of fun to play with. They are more active and have better endurance than female dogs. This is probably why male dogs are usually chosen for jobs in law enforcement.

  • Animal Organisation Labels Cesar Milan’s Dog Whisperer Style Training ‘Inhumane’

    The training tactics featured on Cesar Millan’s “Dog Whisperer” program are inhumane, outdated and improper, according to a letter sent yesterday to the National Geographic Channel by American Humane, the oldest national organization protecting children and animals.

    In the letter, American Humane, which works to raise public awareness about responsible pet ownership and reduce the euthanasia of unwanted pets, expressed dismay over the “numerous inhumane training techniques” advocated by Cesar Millan on “Dog Whisperer.”

    Several instances which the society considered to be ‘cruel and dangerous treatment’ – promoted by Millan as acceptable training methods – were documented by American Humane, including one in which a dog was partially asphyxiated in an episode.

    In this instance, the fractious dog was pinned to the ground by its neck after first being “hung” by a collar incrementally tightened by Millan. Millan’s goal – of subduing a fractious animal – was accomplished by partially cutting off the blood supply to its brain.

    The letter requests that National Geographic stop airing the program immediately and issue a statement explaining that the tactics featured on the program are inhumane, and it encourages National Geographic to begin developing programming that sets a positive example by featuring proper, humane animal training. In its letter, American Humane said: “We believe that achieving the goal of improving the way people interact with their pets would be far more successful and beneficial for the National Geographic Channel if it ceased sending the contradictory message that violent treatment of animals is acceptable.”

    “As a forerunner in the movement towards humane dog training, we find the excessively rough handling of animals on the show and inhumane training methods to be potentially harmful for the animals and the people on the show,” said the letter’s author, Bill Torgerson, DVM, MBA, who is vice president of Animal Protection Services for American Humane. “It also does a disservice to all the show’s viewers by espousing an inaccurate message about what constitutes effective training and appropriate treatment of animals.”

    Torgerson noted that the safety of a woman and her German shepherd were jeopardized in one episode by the use of an electric shock collar, which forced the tormented dog to redirect its aggression at its owner, biting her arm. “Furthermore, the television audience was never told that Mr. Millan was attempting to modify the dog’s behavior by causing pain with the shock collar,” he said.

    Cesar Milan has enjoyed widespread commercial success with his TV and media career and is currently the most well known animal behaviour expert in the United States.

    In Britain, Jan Fennel is known as ‘the dog whisperer’. The Humane Society attack on Milan does not draw comparison or reference to Britain’s dog whisperer style dog trainers.